Just a Game?
by Secret EMC
Summary: Emma Black is just a girl. Who happens to "borrow" her dad's Assassin's Creed game. Everything is fine, until she is sucked back in time, where she meets Altair. At age 17. His life changes the moment they meet. Altair/OC. Set BEFORE the game.
1. Hay?

"Emma, what ARE you doing in here?"

Crap! I got to make an excuse! Dad doesn't allow me in the "Man Room".

"I, uh, was looking for more dirty dishes to put into the dishwasher. See, I am about to start the load and..."

"Just get out, please?"

I nodded and adjusted my white hoodie. I stuck the game in there. Assassin's Creed, the best 'bad-donkey/mule' game out there! I always put it back before he eats dinner, so he doesn't find out that I have been taking it. In general, both of my parents don't like me playing video games. It isn't mature or feminine. Bleh. I am just fourteen. DEAL WITH IT.

I wandered into my bedroom. I was still NOT finished with the game. I was working on gathering info on the merchant king. The stupid guards were so annoying! I put my hand on my stomach and felt the hard, rectangular object. I took it out of my jacket and sighed. I held up the game case and stared at the cover. Altair Ibn La-Ahad was staring back at me. His eyes were mesmerizing. How did the game designers do it? I find him VERY attractive.

Gah! What am I thinking! He is a FICTIONAL CHARACTER FROM A FREAKING VIDEO GAME. I must be truly pathetic.

I laid down on my bed, combing through my jet black hair with my fingers. Screw brushing! I don't feel like getting up for my hair, which will just get messed up in my sleep.

I was trying to decide to take off my sneakers and skinny jeans when I noticed that it was strangely quiet. I left them on. I tucked the game under the comforter on my bed and I got up to check up on my parents. It wasn't like them to have the TV off.

On my way out, I suddenly lost my balance and tripped. I clenched my eyes shut and braced for impact. But, instead of my face hitting my hardwood oak-floor, I fell into you-know-what: hay.

What the fudge? This must be horrible for my allergies. It took me a few seconds to ALSO get freaked out about the fact that there was hay on my floor. Where did that come from?


	2. Kicking nuts

I got out of the pile scratchy hay and started to brush it off my clothes. Getting it off my jeans was no problem, but the sweatshirt was a whole other story. Little bits of hay had gotten in every little fold of it. There was also a ton in the hood an in the sweatshirt itself. I sighed and started to pull it off. The strange looks I was getting from the other people had become glares. Some people started whispering to each other.

"What are _you _looking at?" I shouted to the forming crowd of people. I could hear their snickers from across the road.

"Hey! Get lost!" I yelled. The group of people started to separate. I finally got my sweat shirt off, and I was just wearing my red tee.

It was so hot! I wish I brought shorts…

I continued down the road, when I heard clanking metal behind me. It was a strangely familiar sound. I turned around on instinct. My body told me to run, but my head said, "Hey! Free directions outta' this crazy place!" I saw three guards come around the corner. They immediately saw me and came over, smiling.

"Hello, miss. Do you need any help?" asked the tallest guard, who also appeared to be the oldest.

"Yeah… I was wondering about how to get out of this city." I said, fiddling with my hair. I was nervous, for some unknown reason.

"Come. We'll escort you out," said the slightly chunky one. The third stayed silent the entire time, watching.

Was he a newbie? Maybe he's just trying to learn how to be courteous.

The oldest guard stayed in front of me as we walked, while the chunky and silent one stayed behind me. We rounded a corner. We entered an alley.

"Here we are!" said the guard in the front, while rolling up his sleeves.

"Um, now we aren't!" I exclaimed as I moved back towards the entrance. The two guards shoved me back into the alley. One grabbed my arms as their leader approached.

"You know, you shouldn't wear such revealing clothes." He gestured to my shirt.

"What? There are sleeves!"

"Barely. Hold her still while I start."

I looked up, scared out of my wits. I heard a screech from some sort of bird. I strained my eyes to see what it was. A golden eagle circled above. I was mesmerized. A man in white crept to the edge of the roof . He nodded.

I suddenly had a burst of energy. I knew what to do.

I kneed the leader in the crotch. The others let go of my in shock. When the guard bent over, I brought up my fist. It made contact with his jaw, making a satisfying crunch. As soon as I knocked out him though, the others grabbed me again. I struggled, but I couldn't free myself.

"Make sure she suffers," said the guard, who was currently on the ground, trying to get up.

"You'll be the ones suffering, I believe," said the man in white.

The guards looked up, and yelled "Assassin!" The two unharmed ones drew their blades. The assassin jumped down and landed with cat-like grace. He looked at me, straight in the eyes.

Molten gold eyes met my chocolate brown ones. They were beautiful. My gaze ran down his face, soaking in the details. He looked about two or three years older than me. He barely had any stubble. He had a pronounced jawline, and a perfect tan.

Yeah, I was pretty much hooked. Seriously. _He was HOT_.

The only imperfection on his face was a scar that ran down his lips along the side. I thought for a moment.

_Alta__ї__r?_


	3. Savior? Pssh

Altair looked away quickly, facing towards the two remaining guards. The third was still on the ground, groveling like an idiot. I was close enough to him to kick him, so I did. The men continued advancing on the assassin. I laughed, because they were practically putting the nooses around their sorry necks themselves.

Woah! Did I just… Laugh? What is wrong with me?

The sounds of slashing metal filled the air, tearing me from my thoughts. Altair had impaled one guard on his sword. That was fast. His sword was lodge in the other's body, so Altair drew his short blade. It gleamed in the setting sun. You could see the elaborate designs on its surface. The last guard, scared, dropped his sword and ran away. Coward. Altair sighed as the man ran.

"Are you just going to let him get away?" I asked him.

"Who said I was going to do that?" Altair replied with a smirk. Altair put his hand on his belt around his stomach, and a second later the guard fell.

"What the-!" I exclaimed. I didn't see Altair do anything. Altair, still with his smirk, passed me. I noticed that one of his throwing knives was missing. He bent down and picked up the throwing knife, re-sheathing it. He also went back to fetch his long sword. I continued staring. I was in shock from what happened, and at the fact that there was a VERY attractive guy in front of me.

Dirty thoughts! NO!

"Could you please stop that?" asked Altair.

"What?" I replied.

"Your staring makes me uncomfortable. The fact that you were biting and licking your lips doesn't help."

"Oh." GOD, that was embarrassing. I made up an excuse.

"Well, I was nervous." I said, mumbling a bit.

"Sure. Next time, hide. You attract too much attention." He ran his hand down my bare arm. I shivered.

What was he doing? Man, he was BOLD.

His hand paused. "You have a cut on your arm." I just noticed it. The adrenaline masked the stinging. It was about four inches long. Thankfully, it was thin. He took his hand off my arm, to my displeasure, and opened a pouch in his belt. He pulled out linen.

He wrapped up my forearm with it. Then he tied it.

"Remember: if guards are coming, break line of sight, then hide. It would do you good to put on your… cloak."

I grabbed my sweatshirt that I dropped on the alley floor. It had some dirt on it, but it was okay. I slipped it on. It was boiling, but I wasn't about to argue with him.

Speaking of him, where did he go?

Altair was gone. I used to be happy, but now, I was PISSED.

"You son of a-!" I was interrupted by the guard leader. I almost forgot about him.

"What? Your 'wittle boyfriend' didn't stay? Well, I wouldn't have," he spat. I wanted to wipe that sneer off his face.

I walked other to him and kicked him in the nuts, HARD. He passed out from the pain. The question was though: how does it hurt him if I kicked his 'parts' when he has none? I walked out of the alley. I was going to find Altair, and kill his sorry little butt for leaving me out here.


	4. Grapes

Oh my god. What did I get myself into?

I continued walking around the market place, looking for that stupid and all-too-good-looking assassin. I pinched the bridge of my nose and rubbed my temples with my hands. They were considerably dirty from the ground in the alley. Who knows what had been in there, or _died _in there. I wiped my now-dirty face on my sweatshirt. I wish I could take it off, but I didn't want to attract any more attention. My stomach growled.

Fighting and running takes a toll. And it's not like I am very active either. I have never taken any sports, unless my mom forced my too. I could do a few pull-ups and I can sprint for a short time, but that is about it. The only reason why I'm skinny is because of my high-metabolism. Which was currently killing me. I was used to snacking constantly, to make up for my relatively-small meals.

I spotted a fruit vender's stall nearby. "Fresh fruit! Imported from distant lands, all the way to you!" I ignored the man because I didn't really care what the fat merchant said. I was starving. While some random lady clad in red cloth came over and started talking to him, I snuck over to the side. Something caught my eyes. There was some huge red grapes right in front of me. I swiped them and put them in my sweatshirt pocket. As I went to leave, I overheard the man and woman. There was a giggle. To my horror, I realized that they were flirting. I tried to restrain myself from gagging as I continued on my way.

I was walking through a crowd when I felt something smack into me. It was a half-naked man, who was currently mumbling to himself.

Oh, for Christ's sake, really?

These guys were so annoying. I used to pity them, but eventually I wanted to kill them when I was trying to sneak around with Altair in the game. They always broke his cover, and I would have to flee and hide. Now, one was smacking me around. Luckily, he didn't shove very hard. With another insane giggle, he grabbed my grapes out of my pocket and ran. Great.

I scratched my head and sat down. I was pretty much lost, so I would be hard to make it back to the market to get food. Also, it was getting dark, and I didn't want to run into anymore guards or crazy men. You know what happens around this time. Speaking of crazy men, I haven't seen Altair at all. He was probably somewhere safe and warm with food and pillows. Lucky bast-

_Hey_, I think I am going to go visit the bureau.


	5. Water droplet

I remembered, from the game, that the Assassin's Bureaus were always in the dead-center of the city. They also had their symbol on the roof next to it. So I just had to find a ladder to the roof tops, look towards the middle of the city, and find the symbol! Easy-peazy, lemon squeeze-y? It certainly sounded so.

I located a ladder on the side of a nearby building. I climbed up it and stood up on a roof. It was getting kind-of dark, so I had to hurry. After a few minutes, I spot a dark mark next to some sort of lattice roof-thingy. It had to be it. If it wasn't, I swear, I would punt a puppy or something. I was tired, sore and hungry. I turned towards the direction of the bureau and took off.

After an hour, I arrived next to the bureau entrance. Luckily, I didn't have to jump across the roof tops because I always found boards or something to cross over. Sure, I had to take some detours, but it was better than breaking a bone or something. It was really late, so the assassins inside were probably sleeping. I didn't want to wake them up. Maybe I could sneak in and hide. I was desperate. It was freezing outside. And those pillows looked _very _enticing right now. I slowly climbed down the wall, I didn't want to mess up. Eventually, I almost made it to the bottom. There was only a foot or two left. I put my foot on the faucet of the fountain when I slipped. I fell into the water. I was now all wet and dripping. I freaked out. I looked around frantically. I saw a heap of white where an assassin was sleeping.

I immediately froze and held my breath. He rolled over, but he still appeared to be asleep. Thank you, dear god! I crept closer to him, cautiously. I made sure he was asleep before looking at his face. I couldn't see it very well at this angle, so I leaned over him. There was a familiar shape to his jaw and cheek bones, and he had a scar on his smooth lips. It was Altair. He was more handsome than the game version. I thought he was another assassin at first, but apparently not. I guess he was on a solo mission, because I didn't see anybody else in the entrance room.

I felt a droplet of water run down my face, all the way to my bottom lip when it fell. Darn it! I had totally forgotten about my bath in the fountain. Time seemed to slow as I watched the droplet fall down, landing right on the corner of Altair's mouth.

His eyes shot open.


	6. Malik's Imaginary Girlfriends

I gasped. Altair glared at me, while holding something to my neck. I slowly looked down his face to his hand, which was now holding a knife.

How did that get there? He certainly doesn't hold knives in his sleep, does he?

Altair noticed me glancing at his knife. He rolled his eyes. "No, I am not armed in my sleep, girl. Don't be ridiculous."

"But then how did you-"

"I keep my weapons close by," he interrupted. "When I rolled over, I grabbed it."

"Oh," I said. Nobody would _actually sleep with a blade_, unless they were idiots. They could injure themselves in their sleep.

"If you are trying to sneak in, I would recommend _not_ splashing around in the fountain. Also, sneaking into a building full of trained assassins is pure stupidity." I felt his other hand moving to the back of my neck. He smirked.

"MALIK! Get in here! Look what I found!" Wait, Malik was here? Why wasn't he in the entrance room?

"What Altair? I am having an important discussion with the Rafik."

"Just come in here. I found a girl." Altair looked proud as he made me stand up with him, his blade still on my neck.

"Pshh, yeah right Altair. I am _definitely _going to fall for that one again," Malik called out from the other room. He started to talk to the Rafik again.

"Malik, I am not kidding about the girl this time," said Altair exasperatingly. I found this hilarious.

"_This time?_" I asked Altair, with a smug grin. He narrowed his eyes at me, and squeezed my neck.

"Hey, watch it!" I yelled. Stomping of feet was later heard.

Oh shitake mushrooms.

"In Allah's name, there _is _a girl!" exclaimed Malik. The Rafik soon joined us in the entrance area. He shook his head.

"I have a name; it's _Emma_, not _girl_," I said, moving my neck. Altair's grip was getting painful. The Rafik raised one of his eyebrows. It looked like a grey, fuzzy caterpillar. I stared at it with interest.

"Emma, hmm? What an unusual name," the Rafik said, while tapping his chin with his fingers. Altair sighed.

"That's because it's _obviously_ a fake name. She is most likely a Templar spy. Just look as her clothes and the colors. I should have seen it sooner." Altair continued narrowing his eyes. I swear, you could've blind folded him with dental floss or something.

"Well, look at your clothes jerk. Same colors." I gestured to his robes for emphasis. Malik and the Rafik nodded. Of course, Alty just continued being stubborn. Suddenly, Malik perked up.

"Altair, you told us that you should've seen it sooner. So, you bumped into this young lady- pardon me, Emma- sooner?" said Malik. I smiled at him. I was starting to like this guy. I heard Altair growl. He nodded.

"Yes, she was being attacked by guards. I saved her-"

"After I already knocked out one, and then ditched me!" I added angrily. Malik looked surprised.

"Women don't usually fight back. You aren't from around here, are you?" I shook my head in reply.

"Then what business do you have here, especially in the Assassin's Bureau?" asked Altair, harshly. Jeez, somebody's grumpy.

"Food? Shelter?" I asked.

"Well, now that you know of the Brotherhood, you have to stay here while our Master decides what to do with you."

"Wait, you mean Al Mualim?!" I shrieked. They closed in on me. I gulped. I had to think of an excuse.

"Altair said it in his sleep. Hehehe…" The two turned their gazes to Altair. If looks could kill, well, Altair would've been long gone.

"Well, next time we'll just gag Altair in his sleep then. Maybe it will somehow stop his snoring, too." Malik teased. Yep, I liked this guy a lot, now. Altair let go of my neck and crossed his arms, still holding his blade. He started talking.

"We should also gag you too, Malik. Maybe then we can stop hearing your fictional conversations with supposedly-attractive women- if you can call those conversations… I remember a name, Aatifa, I believe. Oh and there was also a… " I let out a giggle. Okay, maybe Altair wasn't so bad. He was still hotter than Malik, anyway. Malik was blushing furiously.

"Okay, Altair, that's enough. Now Malik, let's go and finish our discussion. You can also tell me about those girls…" The door slammed. I heard some muffled protests through the door. The Rafik was enjoying torturing Malik.

"High-five, Alty!" I yelled at Altair, holding up my hand. He just sat there, watching. I noticed his missing finger.

"High-four, then! Come on!" I tried to convince him. He pulled his hood up further onto his face and sighed.


	7. The Revenge of the Grapes

I groaned. I was currently was on a pile of pillows. They were plush and embroidered. Where did they come from? I never bought these pillows.

I rubbed my eyes while they adjusted from the sunlight steaming into the room from the roof. Wait, where were my windows? Why was there a _hole_ in my roof? I sat up, confused. The walls were a sandy color, and there was a fountain on one. Okay. Strange. My thoughts were interrupted by a shuffle across the room.

"Woman, do you always sleep like that? I could barely get any rest with your shifting and babbling." It came from a quite-grumpy Altair. Oops. I forgot. _I am in a historical video game_. I sat up, scratching the back of my head. I needed a shower. I noticed Altair doing the same. I thought it was funny. Then I realized: he was hoodless! His short brown hair looked soft and silky. I wanted to touch it. I was about to go over to get a closer look, but then he pulled up his hood. I think I made him uncomfortable. He gave me a glare. I think he was about to say something when Malik burst in through the door to the over room!

"Hey Emma! Want something to eat? I bet you are hungry!" he asked me with a smile. He came over and sat down next to me. What the fudge? He was a lot different after his arm was chopped off in the game. I grabbed his arm (which he still had) with interest. I turned it and felt it with my hands. I couldn't believe that he would lose it, because of Altair's arrogance. It was me sad. I guess Malik noticed my change of mood because he stared at me quizzically. Then he glanced at Altair. Suddenly, Malik's grin turned into a frown. Altair was glaring at Malik and me for no apparent reason. Weird.

"Emma," Malik said, nudging me, "come on. Do you like fruit?" I got up with him heading over to the other room, leaving Altair alone in the entrance area. I glanced back at Altair. He was still glaring at the back of Malik's head. I imagined laser beams coming out of Altair's eyes and melting Malik's skull. I blamed my cousin's addiction to Sci-Fi films. When Altair noticed me watching him, he turned to the wall, pulling his hood over his face.

After I grabbed some fruit for my breakfast, I sat down, stuffing my face. Malik and the Rafik were in deep conversation, probably about some plans or something. It sounded boring. I sighed, and stared at the grapes in my lap. My thoughts started drifting to Altair. He wasn't in the this room, so he couldn't have gotten any food yet. I got up and exited the room, going to Altair. I was going to see if he wanted any of my grapes.

When I got there, Altair was still on some pillows. He was grumbling to himself and absentmindedly felt the stub of his ring finger. I sat down next to him, on a blue pillow. He jumped up, surprised. There was a shocked look on his face. I tried to contain a fit of giggles. Altair, the mighty and stoic assassin, scared. Altair then composed himself and sat back down.

Not facing me, he asked, "Did you hear any of that?" I shook my head. He sighed in relief. He turned to face me, with a scowl on his face. "What do you want?" he asked. I held up my grapes.

"Want some?" There was a small smile on his face as he grabbed a grape. I took one and put it to my lips. I then sucked it in quickly, making a small popping noise. Altair looked at me curiously. He didn't know how to do it. I could tell he wanted to learn though.

"Here, this is how you do it." I took a grape and held it to his lips. He seemed happy that he didn't have to ask. "Now, all you have to do is to produce enough suction to pull it into your mouth." He tried and succeeded at making the grape 'pop'. I smiled and held another grape to his mouth. He was about to suck it in when Malik came in. Altair flushed and started to choke on his grape. Oh good lord. Altair was coughing like a maniac. Thankfully, I didn't have to perform the Heimlich maneuver on him or anything. When Altair looked up, he still had a blush on his face.

Malik started laughing. "Oh, Altair and Emma-" Altair went over to Malik and punched him in the face. I love grapes.


	8. I Get a Free Piggyback Ride

"What is going on?!" yelled the Rafik as he burst through the door. Malik was on the floor, rubbing his lip. Altair was just staring cooly at Malik. It was kind of awkward. I was still on the blue pillow that I sat on when I first started eating. I scratched the back of my head. Hmmm. Where should we start?

"Well, ummm, Altair and I-" I began.

"Malik jumped on me while I was eating, causing me to choke." Altair interrupted. Malik gave Altair a weird look. The Rafik gestured to Malik's bleeding lip. Altair shrugged as if to say: he deserved it. The older man just sighed. Malik continued rubbing his lip. Eventually, Altair kicked him lightly and he stopped. The Rafik was in deep thought.

After a few minutes, he told the two assassins-in-training to go to the other room. I was alone in the room with the man. I was still sitting on the pillow as the Rafik paced back and forth.

"You are being taken to Masyaf. If no problems arise, you should get there in a few days. Our master then will question you and decide what to do with you." The two hairy caterpillars that made up his eyebrows furrowed together. I was horrified. Al Mualim turned out to be the bad guy, didn't he? At least in the game, he did.

"Altair will bring you to Masyaf. I would've recommended Malik, but our master ordered otherwise. That is all." I let out a sigh of relief. I wasn't gonna die, yet.

I was getting up and brushing off my jeans when the Rafik started talking again. "One more thing: please avoid choking Altair with food. He is of no use when he is nervous." I made a psshh sound when he left.

Nervous? As if. Altair, the master assassin with nerves of steel, who is cold and calculating, kinda of a player and incredibly hardcore being SCARED. But he was kinda jumpy when I first came in this morning. I wished I listened in on his personal conversation before I bugged him. Hmmm.

The door behind me opened, and someone walked in. I ignored him as I continued thinking. I was in a fictional universe, or the past. This was before the game took place, because Malik and Altair were still learning and Malik had both arms. And now. The mysterious and brooding Altair is jumpy like a frightened bunny. My brain was saying: DOES NOT COMPUTE. But then, the most horrible thought came up: what if I can never get home? I was starting to get homesick.

My train of thought crashed when something smacked the back of my head. It wasn't painful, except it startled me. I turned my head around abruptly and faced Altair.

"WHAT?!" I yelled angrily at him.

"They are some supplies for the ride in the satchel," he replied, as he started packing his own bag. I looked at the contents of the bag. There was a water-skin, cloak, flint and tinder, apples and dried meat. It looked like there was a decent amount of stuff in there. I decided not to pack anymore.

Altair had finished packing, and threw his bag over and around his shoulder. He started climbing the fountain, taking care to NOT fall in it. I just stared up at him, staying on the ground. Was he expecting me to climb that? I could barely get down it.

Altair was almost to the top of the roof when he noticed I wasn't climbing. He looked at me exasperatingly.

"Come. I do not want to waste anymore time."

"Well, I am NOT climbing that. I could barely get down the wall. How do you expect me to get up?" I asked, leaning on my left foot. Altair, to my surprise, started to come back down.

"What are you planning on do-"

Altair grabbed me, and slung me onto his shoulder. I started pounding my fists on his VERY TONED back.

"Put me down! Put me down!" Altair just looked back at me and smirked.


	9. Worse Than Needles

I sighed and just laid my hands on his back. His muscles felt so unreal. They were too hard to be tissue.

Sooner than I preferred, we were on the roof. I didn't bother moving. I was surprisingly comfortable. Apparently, I seemed to annoy Altair or something, because he coughed loudly.

"I am too tired to get off. Deal with it," I said as I blew a lock of my hair out of my face. Altair suddenly shrugged, making me fall off, on my butt. I was about to glare at Altair's face when I saw he was really red. Did I over exert him? Or was he… Blushing? Nah. Altair would NEVER blush, would he?

"I am sorry, that was rude of me. My master would be ashamed of my manners." Altair held out his hand to me. I looked at it and noticed the missing finger and shuddered. It disturbed me that someone could just cut off a finger without pain killers. I got up and brushed off my back side.

"It's okay, thanks." Altair was back to his normal, cool, sarcastic mood again. He started running to the next rooftop to our left. I was about to follow when I noticed that there were no boards in between. I could not walk across. I just stood there. Altair was about to get on the next roof when he noticed I wasn't behind him.

"What now? I don't want to waste any more time here." He had a nasty tone of voice too.

"I can't jump that! Do you want me to break my neck or something?"

"It will take too long to walk on the streets."

"I still can't make the jump!"

"I can always just stick a throwing knife through your leg and you won't have to cross the roofs anyways." He took out a throwing knife and waved it around in the sunlight, making it glimmer.

"FINE. But if I die, you are paying for my lawyer to carry out my will." Altair had this look on his face that said 'what in the world is she talking about?'.

"Come on. What can I do to get you to hurry up? I am dying here." I got an evil idea.

"Come and hug me!" His quizzical expression was hilarious. I struggled to keep my 'serious' face on.

"You are…. Joking, right?" he asked. I shook my head. He started coming back over the bureau roof. I tilted my head expectantly. He was still holding his throwing knife as he cautiously put one of his arms around my shoulder. "I really don't find this necessary, wait, what are you doing?!"

I had slipped my hand around the hilt of his short sword. I pulled it out, and ran backwards. I giggled with glee like a little girl. I started flipping it around. I turned and looked at Alty. He looked shocked, and then mad.

"GIVE THAT BACK! YOU ARE GOING TO STAB SOMETHING! STOP THAT! YOU INSOLENT GIRL-!"

I gasped as an arrow embedded itself in my shoulder. The adrenaline started pouring into my blood stream as the pain was dulled. I saw the archer on the rooftop across the street. Another archer ran up beside him and started drawing an arrow.

"Altair! There are arch-" I was cut off as the first archer fell off the rooftop. I was surprised. I noticed, as his body hit the road, that there was a glinting metal object in his back.

"Come! We have to get away from the bureau before the guards discover it!" The adrenaline gave me extra energy as I sprinted forward, flying to the next roof alongside Alty. When he jumped, his robes flared out behind, giving him 'wings'. His name really fitted him.

He pointed to an alley to the side of the building. We jumped down, and I somersaulted on the dirt floor. I successfully hadn't broken any bones! Right before we could run out of the one entrance to the alley, several guards came and blocked it. Shitake mushrooms. Altair charged them, catching them off guard. He made a grab for his short sword, but I was still holding it. I immediately regretted it, but Altair adapted quickly. As he sprinted he cracked his knuckles and made a fist. I noticed the little plates on his knuckles. Altair punched one guard in the face, and broke his jaw. Some blood splattered, and got on my ALREADY dirty white sweatshirt. The guard was out cold.

I continued backing up in order to keep out of the way when the second archer jumped down. I looked back at Altair. He had his hidden blade out, so I think he was okay. I had the archer to worry about anyways.

The archer took out a long knife and raised it above his head. As he brought it down, I sidestepped and he missed. I was in 'fight-or-flight' mode. As he turned, I slashed Altair's blade across his leg. He immediately fell down to the ground. I then spun around, smacking him in the head with the hilt of the sword, knocking him out. Altair walked over to me, covered in blood. He slowly took the blade from my hand and slit his throat. I looked at him, in shock. I never expected to ever wield a blade, much less ACTUALLY CUTTING somebody with it.

Altair's gaze was not cold, or angry. I could not label it, but it was along the line of kind and soft. He hugged me, accidently hitting the arrow still in my shoulder. The energy rush faded from me suddenly, and I gritted my teeth and hissed. I collapsed into his chest. I was so tired and was in an entirely new level of pain. Like, I cry and scream about NEEDLES. This was a lot worse. He held me as we walked out and onto the edge of the street.

The gate to the walls around the city was right ahead, next to the stables. He led me over to a black horse and hoisted me up onto it. I groaned. He came up behind me. There were no guards thankfully, because they were inspecting the bodies of their comrades. I would have enjoyed leaning on Alty if I wasn't in agony. He steered the horse out into the sunlight.


	10. Sleep Over!

I was fading in and out of consciousness. The sunlight was giving me a headache. It was way too bright. With every lope of the horse, my shoulder was open to more pain. I wish there was some Tylenol or something around. I turned my head to look at Altair.

He was grinding his teeth and was intensely concentrating on controlling the horse. In my dazed state I asked Altair, "Can you turn down the lights? My head hurts…" Altair seemed momentarily confused by my mention of electricity, but then leaned his head over mine, shielding my face from the light.

"Just stay with me. There's a good campsite nearby; there we'll be able to take out that…" I fell into sleep, wondering what the next word he had said was.

In my sleep, I remember somebody carrying me and then setting me down. It was a man. He had one had on the side of my face. It was soothing and-

Holy mother of Jesus Christ the Lord!

There was a wrenching pain coming from my shoulder. I abruptly opened my eyes, and there was Alty, just sitting there with the bloody arrow in his hand. I went hysterical.

"WHY THE FUDGE DID YOU DO THAT?! THAT FREAKING HURT! I AM GONNA GET AN INFECTION AND THEN I WILL HAVE TO GET MY ARM CUT OFF AND THEN I WILL BE LIKE MALIK! AND IF I BECOME LIKE MALIK, THEN YOU WILL SUFFER MY FURY!"

"Malik has both arms, you idiotic girl." Oh, I forgot this was BEFORE the game.

"JUST SHUT UP AND FEEL BAD FOR ME ALREADY!"

"I have always felt bad for you because your lack of intelligence," he said coolly.

"NEVERMIND!" I was panting from screaming. My arm still hurt a lot. If only I brought some Advil…

Altair got up and went to the midnight black horse. He dug around in some saddlebags until he found something. He pulled out some cloth and a strange, small vial. I didn't ask what it was. He sat down beside me, and lifted up the cloth. He poured some of the liquid on it. The liquid was clear, and smelled of alcohol.

Wait, ALCOCHOL?! IT STINGS A LOT! NO!

While I was having this mental breakdown, Altair had leaned toward me with the cloth in his left hand. I noticed and continued freaking out. Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god- and he started cleaning the arrow…

"WHY THE FUDGE ARE YOU CLEANING THE FREAKING ARROW WHEN I HAVE A FREAKING PUNCTURE WOUND! PUNC-TURE WOUND!" I shrieked at Altair. He just sighed.

"Do you EVER stop screaming? It's quite exasperating." He continued to stroke the arrow with the cloth.

I just leaned back on the log that was behind me. I closed my eyes and tried to think about something to distract me from the pain. I couldn't think of anything until I heard Altair breathing deeply. Hmm… Altair. Hot. Tan. Muscled. Confident. Strong. HOT… Again. I internally smiled when I felt the sting of alcohol.

Darn it, Altair! Darn the freaking yarn! (And yes I can knit. I am going to knit bunny ears onto Altair's hood, too! Just kidding! Or am I?) I whimpered as Altair cleaned my wound. He raised an eyebrow.

"I thought you WANTED me to clean you wound?" he asked with a sarcastic tone.

"Do NOT make strangle you right now…" I threatened. He laughed.

"I doubt you can. I am a TRAINED assassin. You even have an injury to prevent you from doing so."

"Well, then: how come I could steal your sword? How come you didn't notice the archer, even though you are always like: I-am-the-awesome-assassin?!" I asked him forcefully. He looked down at the ground dropping the rag, now covered with dirt and blood. It took him a few moments to answer.

"I was… Distracted…" I wouldn't take that excuse.

"Why were SO DISTRACTED? What was there that was SO DISTRACTING?! I could've DIED back there!" Wow, I am really malicious when irritated. Altair looked really uncomfortable and shifted in his crouching position.

"I am sorry… For not being aware of our surroundings… I should have protected you better." The way he said it made me feel really bad. I softened my tone.

"I am the one who should be apologizing. I shouldn't have taken that out on you. But, I really am curious: what was distracting you?"

A flush appeared on his face. I think he realized it was there because he pulled his hood farther over his face. It was cute.

"Um… Someone there was making me feel… Different. In a nice way, I suppose." It dawned on me! He had a crush on somebody at the bureau. At first, I thought it was sweet, but then I realized: there weren't any girl assassins. So… OH MY GOD! ALTAIR LIKED MALIK! OH MY GOD! I was reminded of the horrors of Altair/Malik yoai all over FanFiction. I shivered. I just thought that Altair didn't have that particular preference of partners. BUT, there was a girl at the bureau, now that I think of it. That girl was: me… Did he like me? Did he LIKE, LIKE me?

I had a mental explosion. No. Way.

There was absolutely no way that he liked me. I mean: come ON! This is a FICTIONAL GAME WORLD we are talking about. That reminded me of home. How was I supposed to get back?

AND HOW THE FUDGE DO THEY SPEAK AMERICAN ENGLISH HERE?!

But, he might just like Malik. Yeah, probably.

Apparently, I had been in deep thought for a while because Altair starting worrying.

"Emma… EMMA? Are you okay?" He was such a mother hen.

"Yeah," I said, rubbing the back of my neck, "I am just tired."

"I will get out my sleeping roll." He turned and got up, moving toward the horse. He left the cloth next to me. It was kind of disturbing. I looked at my arrow wound. It was already bandaged.

I was left thinking about the bedroll.

Wait, he said "sleeping ROLL." Singular, not plural. Oh my gosh. I didn't pack one. Does this mean we have to share-

"Emma, did you pack a sleeping roll? I can't find yours."

"No…?"

"You realize we only have ONE then, right?"

"Yes?" I cringed.

"Here, you can use it-"

"No. You should use it."

"You are injured, you need it more than I do."

"So you'll freeze to death and I'll be screwed next morning?" He stood next to the horse in thought.

"So… You want to share then?" he asked, scratching the back of his head.

"Naturally body heat." I replied. He sighed and unrolled the bedroll. I slid into it, and he got in on the other side. It was a tight fit. His shoulder kept pressing into my shoulder. I hissed. Altair seemed to notice.

"Lay your stomach."

"But then there will be no more room!"

"Just do it." I complied and shifted onto my stomach. All of a sudden, Altair lifted me and pulled me onto his chest. I immediately started blushing.

"Is that enough room for you?" He asked with a smirk.

"Yeah."


	11. Kitty Got Wet

It was so warm! I was really comfortable. I was clutching the warm object under me when it _moved_. I barely managed to stifle my shriek. There was a groan from under me. I opened my eyes slowly, unsure of what I was going to see.

Right under me was Altair. I was lying on top of THE ALTAIR IBN LA-AHAD. Oh. My. Gosh. If my friend was here, she would be fan-girling. My thoughts were interrupted by the sudden urge to use the bathroom. DARN IT! PERFECT TIMING MOTHER NATURE. GREAT. I was silently debating on how to get out of the sleeping roll without waking him up when he cracked open one eye. He raised one of his perfect eyebrows.

"What?" he asked. "Do you need to get out?"

"Yeah… I need to go… um… Relieve myself." I let out a nervous chuckle. Altair slid out of the bag and helped me up. It was hard to put pressure on my right arm, which is great because I happen to be right handed. Yep. And what I mean by "helped me up" is practically lifting me up. The morning air was chilly on my exposed neck. I pulled up my sweatshirt around my neck further. Altair seemed to notice. He slowly pull off with robes, leaving on his pants. He was topless. Little angels in my head were singing "alleluia". It was glorious. If only I had a camera. His brown hair looked almost golden in the rising sun.

"Here. There's a river nearby that I am going to wash in." He turned around and gestured to a bush. "You can relieve yourself there."

"Okay, thanks." The problem was: I didn't want to use the bathroom anymore. Altair noticed me just standing there.

"Are you going or not?" he asked with a sigh.

"I'm going, I'm going. Geez, stop being so impatient." I moved towards the bush. Altair was still watching.

"GET AWAY. Are you a pervert or something?" I said, trying to get him off of my back. He shrugged then went to the river. I waited next to the bush for a few minutes. After that, I got up and crept to the side to the river. I saw that it lead to a small lake/oasis. I took off my sweatshirt and folded up my pants. I left on my disgusting t-shirt that desperately needed a wash.

Altair was rinsing off his arms while sitting next to the river on the ground. He was still in pants, thank god. While he was scrubbing his shoulders, I went up behind him. I realized the river was actually pretty deep. Deep enough to swim in, even. I came up with an evil idea.

I pounced on topless Alty, and knocked him into the water. I laughed with glee, while I paddled around. Then I realized Altair was flailing around. Was he… Drowning? Oh my god!

I swam over to him and latched onto his torso. I pulled him to shallower side of the river. Altair still had a shocked expression. His face stayed like that for a few seconds before he coughed up some water. Ewww… Well, anyways, Altair started freaking out.

"WHY IN ALLAH'S NAME DID YOU TRY TO DROWN ME, STUPID GIRL?!"

"I thought you could swim, like any other normal assassin." He gave me the death glare.

"Do NOT mock me." He got up and started to walk to the campsite. I got up and ran after him.

"Wait! I can teach you to swim! Come on!" He shook his head.

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"NO."

"Pretty please?"

"NO! I already said no!"

"PLEASE?" He was clearly annoyed. He then sighed.

"If you show me, could you then shut your mouth?"

"Yes! Come on!" He let me drag him back over to the water.


End file.
